January-June 2003 report

How group activities have fulfilled the objects of the Association

The WA Library Technicians' group have focussed primarily on objects three and five of The Association for the first half of 2003.

Object three: To ensure the high standard of personnel engaged in information provision and foster their professional interests and aspirations.

Object five: To encourage people to contribute to the improvement of library and information services through support and membership of the association

The committee, Claire Stokes secretary, Wendy Morris treasurer and Judy Smith convenor, worked closely with a core team of members who ensured that the group fulfilled program goals for the first half of the year. New members have been welcomed and the group has benefited from their involvement.

The WA Library Technicians' group provided the structure that enabled many Western Australian library technicians to gather together to develop and discuss their professional interests and aspirations. The group initiated a combination of formal and informal gatherings that have been well attended. Particularly noticeable this year has been the coming together of varying age groups at a number of functions, namely the Library Technicians Day Breakfast and at the Group Mentoring Program meetings.

Awarding the student/recently graduated Library Technician Conference Grant has been one of the most rewarding activities to date. The grant has ensured the attendance of Michaela Shepherdson at the 12th Annual National Library Technicians' Conference in Brisbane later this year.

The WA Group Mentoring Program is another of the group's activities that supports recently graduated Library Technicians. This year's group has been meeting regularly since January and is made up of recently graduated Library Technicians from Edith Cowan University and Perth Central TAFE. The graduates are mentored in a group situation by experienced Library Technicians, Judy Allan and Judy Smith. The learning that takes place at these meetings is two way and the experienced technicians often comment on the benefits of meeting with the recently graduated technicians.

The WA Library Technicians' group also has representation on the committee of the WA Mentoring group who provide Library Technicians with the option of one on one mentoring partnerships.

Purpose and program of the group for the past six months

The first event scheduled for 2003 was a social gathering that provided library technicians the opportunity to gather and to discuss their professional interests and aspirations for the coming year. It was an ideal opportunity to welcome new members and it is pleasing to note that they have continued to be involved in the group's more formal activities as the year has progressed.

The next social activity for the year was held on 13 May to celebrate Library Technicians Day. This was an extraordinary celebration. Twenty eight library technicians ranging from the newly-graduated to the nearly retired shared a delicious breakfast while getting to know new people and catching up with old friends.

This function was also the setting for the WA Library Technicians' group to award the biennial WA Library Technicians' Conference Grant. The winner was Michaela Shepherdson. The $1000 grant awarded to Michaela has contributed to conference registration and air tickets to enable her to attend the 12TH Annual National Library Technicians Conference to be held in Brisbane in September this year.

A workshop to develop skills at creating brochures was held in June. In contrast to the Library Technicians' Day breakfast the workshop was poorly attended and ran at a loss. The high cost of room hire for running a workshop requiring the use of PCs coupled with low attendance were the reasons for the loss. Positive feedback about the workshop was received from those that did attend. There is a certain degree of risk running workshops such as this. It is difficult to determine if the low attendance was the result of topic selection, promotional issues or factors unrelated to either of these.

The sale of the CD-ROM proceedings of the Libraries Looking Out: A South West Forum held by the group in September 2002 will more than cover the loss from the workshop. The next workshop scheduled for October 2003 will not involve the high room hire costs and will proceed as planned.

Two committee meetings were held in March and April to take care of the formal functions of the group. The committee worked closely at other times using e-mail, telephone and personal contact to co-ordinate the various actions necessary to attain program goals.

As mentioned previously the group also runs a Group Mentoring Program. Graduates of the previous year from library technician courses held at Edith Cowan University and Perth Central TAFE meet with two more experienced library technicians from the WA Library Technicians' group. Activities for the year to date have included an introductory meeting in January where the groups learning outcomes for the year were identified and a program set in place. Monthly meetings have followed where topics such as resume writing, selection criteria and interview skills have been addressed.

Purpose and program for the next six months

Planned activities for the next six months include a dinner with a speaker, a conference debrief, an interpersonal skills workshop and an end of year dinner.

Two committee meetings are scheduled. One of these meetings will incorporate a handover to a new committee.

How the group communicates with its members

The group utilises a combination of communication methods. The primary one being a member's e-mail list. The aliaLIBTEC e-mail list is also used regularly for promoting the group's activities to a wider audience and so is the WAIN e-mail list. Regular social and more formal events are important means of personal contact with members. The Biblia newsletter is also an important tool that is used to promote and report on events.

Judy Smith
Convenor
WA Library Technicians
31 July 2003

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